STABILISING THE ELECTRICITY NETWORK:CITY RESPONSE TO RECENT OUTAGES

City of Tshwane executive mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya photo by Dimakatso Modipa

By Dr Nasiphi Moya
Executive Mayor of Tshwane

Over the past week, residents across Tshwane have experienced prolonged electricity outages.

I want to acknowledge the frustration, anxiety and hardship this has caused,
and I apologise to residents for the disruption they have experienced.

I fully recognise the impact this has had on households, families and businesses, and I want to assure
residents that we have been working with urgency to address the situation and restore stability to the electricity network.

Ahead of the December break, the Mayoral Executive met with relevant City
departments to put contingency plans in place to respond to electricity outages over the festive period.

These plans were designed to manage foreseeable incidents and to ensure response teams were on standby.

The scale and spread of the current
outages, however, exceeded those scenarios.

Severe weather, theft and vandalism,
combined with ageing infrastructure in parts of the network, created a level of
disruption that required a broader and more intensive response.

Once the extent of the outages became clear, we immediately escalated our response.

Working closely with the MMC for Utility Services, Cllr Frans Boshielo,additional
technical teams were mobilised,including the use of subcontractors, to increase
capacity and accelerate repair work.

This has been our top priority over the past week.

Daily intervention meetings have been convened, bringing together senior technical and operational leadership, with oversight at Chief Operating Officer level, to coordinate restoration efforts across the city.

Engagement with affected communities has been a core part of our response.

This past Friday, the City convened a community meeting in East Lynne, one of the areas most severely affected by the outages, where the MMC for Utility Services engaged directly with residents.

Their frustration and concerns were clearly articulated, and this feedback is actively informing how we prioritise interventions and improve communication.

I have also undertaken site visits to several affected substations to receive direct briefings from technical teams on the ground.

The plan currently being implemented focuses on short-term interventions to restore supply safely and stabilise affected areas.

At the same time, it is clear that these
challenges require a stronger, transversal and longer-term approach.

This week, the Energy and Electricity Business Unit will present a comprehensive plan to the Mayoral Committee to stabilise vulnerable substations and priority parts of the network.

This plan will include measures to strengthen security at critical sites, address repeat faults, and reduce the risk of prolonged outages going forward.

It will also address asset protection, recognising the impact of theft and vandalism on network stability and
service delivery.

I have instructed that communication with residents be strengthened so that updates are clear, practical and reflect the realities on the ground.

Residents will continue to receive updates through official City channels.

Restoring electricity supply,stabilising the grid and protecting critical infrastructure remain priorities for this administration.

We remain committed to resolving these
issues as urgently as possible, and I will continue to monitor progress closely to ensure the necessary oversight and coordination remain in place.

I also want to thank residents for their patience and during this period and to assure them that this is not taken for granted.